Rim for motor-car wheels.



D. G. SMITH & W.

RIM FOR MOTOR GAR WHEBL$.

APPLICATION KELHD OUTJO, 1906.

INV 10R 5 ATTORNEY cn 'rrnn A1EAENT OFFICE.

DON CARL SMITH AND WILLIAM F. GORTON,,OF MUNCIE, INDIANA.

Rm FOB MOTOR-CAR WHEELS.

No. 886,019. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented April 28, 1908.

Application filed October 10, 1905. Serial No. 838,214.

T all whom. it may concern: l are injurious, not only to the tire, but to the Be it known that; we, DON CARL SMITH rim, and much valuable time is frequently and WILLIAM F. Gorcros, citizens of theitreruired in the work of detaching a disllnited States, residing at Mnncie, in the abied tire from and the replacing on the county of Delaware and State of Indiana, wheel of a new one. 50

have invented a new and useful- Rin'; for Mo The urposes of 'our invention are to overtor-Car Wheels, of which the following is" a i come tiiese faults and it accordingly has for specification. its object. to provide means whereby the Our invention relates to improvements in pneumatic. tire may be maintained. at all '10 tires for vehicle wl'ieels and has especial reftimes inflated and available for Ynimediate 5 erence to devices for detachably fastening inse, and may be by a person of ordinary to motor-car wheels the flexible tires therefor. shill easily and speedily attached to and as While our invention will be shown herein easily and quickly detached from the Wheel. as cs ccially appncable to pneumatic tires, 5 Another object of our invention is to it will be understood that our device will be afford facility whereby the tire .may be "c of equal utility where the solid or cushion completely and more speedily and easily tire is used. attached to and removed from the rim than Many devices and divers forms of 0011- is )ossible by present means in use, and struction of varying degrees of effectiveness witliout injury or damage to the tire.

are now in use whereby the flexible tire A still further object is to provide .a rim 75 is detachably secured to the rim espe of this character which will be of great cially adapted therefor, the rim in turn being durability, ol few parts and simple form and rigidly secured to the folly. By the means economical of manufacture. 1 now in use the attachment. of the tire to and The principal feature of our invention rethe. detachment from the rim is accomplished s'xesin the rim having the flanges formed so with more or less facility depending upon integral therewith, being divided centrally the construction and adaptation of the rim, and having its members detachably secured there being some wherein the rim is pro- 1 to each other for retaining orrcleasing the vided with detachable edges retained apart. tire as may be desired, and such rim, with 3 and strained toward each other so as to ythc tire locked therein, being adapted to be retain the clencher form of tire, and others detachably secured to the wheel. with angular or flaring detachable edges The objebts thus set forth and other obadapted to hold the ordinary tire base or jects which will become apparent as the shoe in true transverse position, the tire specification of our invention is disclosed,

35 itself depending for its hold upon the rim, are accomplished by the device and conupon an endless cable embedded therein, or struction described and illustrated in the upon other independent holding means. accompanying specification and drawings, \arious devices for drawing down and for and defined inthesubjoined clai'ms. forcing together and securing these detach- Similar letters and numerals of reference 40 able edges or rings have been devised, such refer to similar parts throughout the several as turn-buckles, floating rings. bands, and views, in whichspecial tools. The difliculty remains how- Figure 1 is a side view of a wheel fitted ever that notwithstnnding all of these dewith our improved rim complete; Fig. 2 a vices so used, a tire cannot be attached to side view of the right-half section of the tire 5 the wheel provided with such rinis and col1- rim; Fig. 3 a transverse sectional View taken triuinces, without the necessity of the nmon the line 3--3 Fig. 1, andl ig. 4 is a trans nipulation by a mechanic or at least a person verse sectional view taken on the line 44 of more than ordinary skill and ingenuity, Fig. l the tire having been removed. Fig. 5 of unwieldy bands, rings, and tightening shows an enlarged vicn of a portion of the 50 devices. and special tools for prying and right-half section of the tire-rim, and Fig. 6

forcing the tire. Moreover the tire must be l is a transverse sectional vicwthereof. Fig. in deflated condition when attached to or '7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the detached from the wheel and the prying line 7-7 Fig. 1.

and forcing of it by the devices and tools Adesignatcs an ordinarysubstantially 0011- V55 necessary and incident to its manipulation structed wooden wheel having the rigidly for the secured fell: rim B machined true through out the extent of its face and slightly beve'lr d purpose hereinafter shown. The tire-rnn is composed of two annularly formed members machined and finished so that the inner faces thereof will fit correctly each to the other. C designatos the right-half sec tion, and D the left-half section, the former being iprovided with the rabbet C and the latter with the shoulder D} whereby a close and Substantial jointure of the two sections is obtained. The seat of the rabbet and bottom of the shoulder are correspondingly beveled whereby the placing togetl1cr,and taking apart of the members is rendered. easy. It will be readily seen that by makin the rim thus se arable the dilliculty anc fault in rims as now made where divers contrivanees are employed at the edges thereof so that the tire may he slipped off without stretching or forcing, is at' once overcome. The members C and D are provided with the iii-turned flanges E and are transversely beveled on their bottom faces so as to register, sufficient clearance being provided, with the beveled face of the felly-rim -B. The clencher type of tire being used in the tions are held together;

disclosure herein of our invention, tve have necessarily shown the flanges E as being inturned; for the accommodation of tires of a type other than the cleneher, these edges or flanges may be angular or flaring the func tions thereof being merely toprevent the tire from escaping from the rim.

In the construction of our tire-rim, we have employed the use of the plain rim section now generally manufactured, by' cutting away longitudinally a central portion thereof and securing the two sections thus formed, to the members C and D, by countersunk riveting. We find this to be a very satisfactory fprm of construction of our tirerim, however we do not desire to thus limit ourselves as it is obvious that the members composing the tire-rim might be made each of a single piece and the flaring or angular flange used 'to suit the st do of tire for which it is, intended. The shoulder D besides being-so provided and as of such form as to afford in making a true jointure of the sections C and D is of such extent transversely as to bring the interior line of jointure the sections well away from the center, thereby pre venting the possibility, when the sections are secured together of pinching or mutilating the inner-tube, and making posthis detail.

semicircular recess 1 sible the insertion, in proper position with reference to the lugs, of the inner-tube, which will reside in the flexilne. case F. This is an I important feature of our invention, as, by

reason of the prying/stretching wrenching and manipulation of the case necessary in securing it to rims as at resent devised, theplain view of the inner-tulle beingobstructed, it is often wedged out of true position, notso as to correctly register each with the other,

the function whereof is to facilitate the inscr-" tion of the bolts lil whereby the tire-rim sees the edges immediately about the arch of those grooves are slightly countersunk so that in tightening the bolts, they will readily be looked as the same are tightened, into their correct position in the arch of the groove. While we have shown the groove and bolt as the method for securing these sections together we do not desire to be thus limited, as other means whereby these sections may be easily secured together and as ea- -ly separated could be employed without departing in the least from the nature or principle of our invention.

Provided at suitable-locations iii the tirerim are the radially disposed holes enlarged into the aperture 1,-

in these holes reside the shanks of the lugs J the function of which lugs is to gri and retain in position the lips of the fiexib e tire or case. The holes are rectangular to accommodate the flat sides of the shank whereby the lug is prevented from rotating. The description of this bug is merely incidental in that wehave shown our invention as applicable to the use of the clencher form of tire, and we lay no claim to However it will be observed that the shoulder D in addition to the functions performed by it as heretofore set forth, performs the additional function of affording means for the retaining loosely and independently in their proper positions, these ugs, preparatory to their being tightened into operative position. This feature is of great utility and will be hereinafter referred to. Below the lower edge of the shoulder D the holes for these shanks are formed by the enlarged into'the apersuitable space for the tightening nut of the ture I which forms a manipulation of the shank.

- Besides the advantage obtained in our in vention, of rendering unnecessary the shank of length sufficient to extend completely through the felly, as is necessary in wheels as at resent fitted for clencher tires, we afl'ord ierein a closed aperture thereby preventing the entry into the case of foreign. substances such as dust and dirt.

At the place where it is necessary for the valve stem through which the air is so to the inner-tube, to protude, a radial y disposed hole therefor is simply bored through the telly-rim and felly.

From this description of the construction. of our improved rim the mode of manipulation and use Will be readily apparent. The

plied seams bead of the case F is first laid into the .flange E the lugs are then. introduced into the holes provided in the shoulder D and there loosely retained; the member 0 is then placed in position the shoulder D readily coming to rest in the rabbet C, the grooves G and apertures 1 coming into true regis ration, and the 0 p0- site flange of the rim engaging the other ead of the case. The inner-tube will not have been disturbed in the least by this operation of tting the case to the rim. The bolts H are then quickly and easily sli ped into the grooves G and the nuts then tig itened bringing the members of the tire-rim into snug contact. The operation of securing the tire inimovably thereto is then easily comaleted by the tightening of the lugs. [It will e obvious that where the flanges of the rim are of 'a shape differin from the shape herein shown as applica is to the clenchcr type of tire, to accommodate a forui of tire other than the clencher, the lugs will file dispensed with. This however in no way a'iecting the operation, aaplication or use of our invention to tires of form other than the clencher type. The tire being thus secured in the rim, may be then inflated'and so maintained in readiness for the application at any time to the wheel. M designates the flexible air-valve tube adapted to pass through suitable opening provided therefor in the tire-rim, fellyrim and felly.

.lt proper intervals about the telly-rim upon its face and at the line of 'uncture of the tire-rim therewith, are provided suitable transversely extending holes disposed at a right angle thereto which, as plainly shown in Fig. 3, form semicircular channels across the elevated side of the telly-rim. Adapted to pass through these holes are the bolts K provided with the clips L having the bent ends L as shown in Fig. 3.

In applying the tire-rim to the wheel it is simoly slipped onto the beveled felly-rim, as siown in Fig. 8, the same coming to rest in correct position on the fell -rim both transverselv and otherwise. Tie bolts K with the cli s L next their head-ends are then inserted the clip is applied then at the opposite side, and as the nuts K- are tightened the tire-rim will be drawn into ri id and secure contact uith the telly-rim and wheel and there retained. The bolts K thus become embedded in the contacting surfaces of these rims and afford a jointure of great solidity. -The function of the clips L is simply to afford bearings for the heads and nuts of the bolts K, and the bent ends of the clips indent the surfaces against which they rest sufficiently so they are prevented from slipping.

Our device is of especial utility for use and application to the wheels of inotor-cars'or automobiles, and especially those of the greatest weight and intended for the longest runs and highest speed. One of the mosttrequentsources of breakage and loss of time in the performance of this class of vehicles, is the lack of means and facility whereby, when a tire is damaged or punctured or from any cause rendered ineffective, the injury or difficulty may be quickly and effectively remedied. Even if an additional tire is carried by the machine, as is now generally the case in long-runs or s eed trials, yet the diliiculty arising from a isabled tire is onl partially remedied since the disabled tire as to be detached from the rim by prying and forcing and the manipulation of rings, flanges and contrivances, and the new tire in. deflated condition has to be a plied to the wheel in like manne in whicli operation a. great deal of time is necessarily consumed, and the case and inner tube is always more or less strained, mutilated and damaged, and i'noreover the same has then to be inflated.

In addition to the ease and facility atl'orded in our device for securing on and taking the tire from the wheel, we accomplish in addition to these advantages, a tire which may be kept and retained when not actually in action, in an inflated condition in readiness for immediate use, hence, in case of failure of a tire in use in the machine, the extra tire carried ready-inflated, may be immediately available. The utility of our invention in this reference will be especially appreciated, when it is realized that the passing of time has to be. seriously reckoned with in touring and speed performances of the motorcar or automobile. To .make the change, the bolts K are removed, the tire-rim is easily pushed vfree from .the fell'yu'in:

either by the hand of the manipulator or by a few taps of a hammer or other suitable instrument, and the extra tire titted with our improved rim is c uicrl and easily slipped. into position on t e el y-rim in g the placeof its predecessor, the bolts K etc then replaced am tightened and the machine is in readiness to proceed on a sound and inflated tire. If it is desired to mend or repair the disabled tire just removed, the ln s J are first loosened, then the bolts H are oose-ned and easily by hand moved free from the slots G; the member C is then easily lifted from the opposite member and from the case; the inner-tube may then be easily removed, as ma also be the case.

Ti lie replacing of the tire complete in the rim is simply a repetition of the operation heretofore described. The repaired tire may be then inflated and retained and carried as an extra in its inflated and tested and dependable condition in readiness to be applied in the same manner as j ust described.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination with a Wheel having a rigidly secured folly rirn thereon, of a tireat suitable intervals to re ister With the retaining rini comprising oppositely (liscorresponding grooves in tie felly -riin for posedannular rings having iii-turned flanges the reception of bolts for securing the tireat their outer, edges, their vertical facing retaining rim to the wheel.

5 edges being provided with a rabbelted joint 7 3. The combination with a wheel having it having the seat thereof beveled, the vertical rigidly secured folly-rim thereon beveled line of j'ointure of the facing edges of the and provided with a series of transverse rings being to one side of a line central begrooves therein, of a tire-retaining rim com.- tween the .fianges, there being transverse i posed of a pair of oppositely disposed annular 1c apertures provided in the rings and having rings, their inner sides being transversely bolts therein whereby the members maybe grooved to receive bolts for securing. the secured together, the inner surface of the sections together, their vertical facing edges tire-retaining rim being machined to fit the being provided with. a rabbet joint having felly rim, and transverse apertures being its seat beveled,.the ledge being provided provided at intervals at the line of jointure with radially disposed holes at proper interof the tire-retaining rim and the folly rim vals' opening into semicircular recesses proand having bolts therein whereby the tircvided correspondingly in the faces of said retaining rim, in assembled form, may be secured to the wheel, substantially as de- 34) scribedi 2. The combination with a wheel having a rigidly secured felly-rim thereon beveled and provided with a series of transverse grooves therein, of a tire-retaining rim com l reception of bolts for securing the tire-rim. posed of a, pair of oppositely disposetll to the Wheel.

annular rings, their inner sides being trans- In testimony whereof we have hereunto tire-rim being beveled so to register throughout with the beveled face of the folly-rim having transverse grooves at suitable intervals to register with. the corresponding grooves in the felly-rini for the versely grooved to receive bolts for securing signed our names to this specification in the the sections together, their vertical facing presence of two subscribing Witnesses. edges provided with a rabbct joint having D. CARL SMITH. the seat thereof beveled and the inner sur- I l VILLIAM F. GORTON. face of said tire-rim being beveled so as to itnesses: register throughout with the beveled face of l LEO. S. GANTER, v the felly-rin1 and having transverse grooves l EDWARD G. CLARKE sections and the inner surface of the said 

